Friday, August 05, 2011

Today's Four Ways Friday uses an oldie, but goodie...the Loads of Love stamp set! I decided to try to use the set simply vs. using the images with loads of layers or embellishments. I hope you like this simple Four Ways :)

For this first card, I simply stamped the truck onto a Whisper White card base using Jet Black Staz-On. I then stamped the greeting from Short & Sweet, using Rose Red ink and the stamp-a-ma-jig to keep things lined up! The next step was the stamp the heart image onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock with Staz-On and then cut it out. I colored in the hearts using Rose Red, Pink Pirouette and Pretty In Pink markers. I also stamped the heart images and cut out one heart and colored it with Rose Red marker. Lastly, I added dazzling diamonds and some crystal effects to the hearts and then adhered them to the truck using glue.

The floral image inspired me to make a flower pot! Here I stamped the floral image with Jet Black Staz-On on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. I then colored in the flowers and leaves with markers and added some dazzling diamonds with 2-way glue to give them a bit of sparkle! I used More Mustard card stock to paper piece a flower pot and adhered it together with glue. A rectangle of Soft Suede card stock was cut out and the edges sponged with Soft Suede ink. I then used the paper piercing tool to paper pierce the edges of the rectangle. The greeting from Teeny Tiny Wishes was stamped with Staz-On using the stamp-a-ma-jig. The flower pot was the adhered to the panel using dimensionals. The panel was then adhered to a Whisper White card base and finally a piece of Pretty In Pink taffeta ribbon was knotted around the card.

Card number three is all about stamping on designer series paper. Here I stamped the truck image onto a piece of retired designer series paper and then cut the image out, removing the window with a hobby blade. I also stamped the image onto a piece of Whisper White card stock and a piece of Brushed Silver card stock and cut those both out as well (well, actually, I just cut out the brushed silver bumper and hubcaps :) I then glued all of the pieces down onto the Whisper White card stock truck. The words "enjoy" and "the" came fro a stamp in the Sweet Season stamp set. They were stamped onto scraps of Whisper White card stock and cut out. The letters for "ride" are from the Calendar Alphabet & Numbers stamp set. They were stamped with Old Olive ink and then punched out with the circle punch from the punch trio set. I then used my 1/2" circle punch to punch out pieces of Melon Mambo card stock. The circles were adhered together and then adhered to the card using glue.

The final card also required stamping onto designer series paper (Brights Pattern Stack - Old Olive). I cut out the part of the truck that I wanted to be striped. I then stamped the truck onto a Very Vanilla card base using Staz-On. The designer paper was adhered to the card base with glue. I used colored pencil to fill in the bumpers, tires and hubcaps. The woman from Loads of Love Accessories was stamped and colored in using markers. I then used the stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the greeting and stamped it using Staz-On. Finally, I stamped the floral image multiple times onto Whisper White card stock, cut them out and colored them with markers. A dash of Old Olive super nova glitter was added prior to adhered the flowers to the card base.
I hope you've enjoyed this week's Four Ways Friday! It was fun to use an old favorite and try to keep the cards simple! I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend with a bit of relaxation as well!

Thursday, August 04, 2011

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Why is "no" such a difficult word for me?

I seem to struggle with the ability to say "no." Why is that? What is my fear? Disappointing someone? And what if I do? In the craft room I have a habit of not saying no - allowing myself to say "yes" to whatever inspiration comes along and I love the freedom of saying "yes" when I create. However, when I'm not in the craft room - when I am out in the wide wide world, sometimes "yes" can create roadblocks and obstacles to living the life I aspire to live. So I'm going to give "no" some more practice - allowing myself to set boundaries - all in the interest of ensuring I am taking care of myself and my creative spirit.
Today's card is a simple one - a one stamp wonder :) I stamped the greeting from On Your Birthday using Staz-on Jet Black ink and the stamp-a-ma-jig. I then used the paper piercing tool to create a line of holes beside the greeting. The cupcake was created using a portion of a punched scallop circle. I coated it with glue and then sprinkled on some faux frosting made from styrofoam (you can see the video for how to make the frosting HERE). The cupcake wrapper is just a piece of daffodil delight card stock that I cut out and ran through the crimping tool. The candle was paper pieced and I added a dash of dazzling diamonds to the candle. The cupcake was then adhered to the Whisper White card base using dimensionals. I hope you like it! :)

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

It's not often that I will walk with Buddy off leash since I am always concerned that he will see a squirrel or fox and take off running after it - paying no never-mind to any traffic that might be in the way. Although we don't live in a terribly busy neighborhood, there are enough cars to give me pause. Sometimes though, if it's super early in the morning and a day when people are sleeping in, I will remove the leash and give him the freedom to walk without restraint. He normally is an incredibly well-trained listener...but there are some things that seem to interfere with his ability to focus on my voice...and one of those things caught his attention on his most recent off-leash time. There, just feet in front of him, was a bunny rabbit and it was just too much for him to resist. So although I was giving him the command to stay, he just couldn't help himself and off he went after that bunny! The bunny's instinct kicked in too and he went bounding away from Buddy! The bunny was faster than Buddy and was able to slip through a fence by some trees so Buddy came back to me - although he did keep looking around to see if the bunny might venture out again even as I gave him the "bad dog" talk :) Yes, I put Buddy back on his leash - not willing to risk the possibility that another bunny would cross his path! Buddy's reaction to those bunnies is instinct and I realize that my reaction to creating is just the same - there is nothing that can stop me! No matter what the possible barrier - time, place, finances - I will find a way to follow my instinct and create! It is who I am and I will always honor that part of me :)
Today's card was a clean-up of my craft table! I adhered scraps of dictionary pages and a scrap of paper fabric using glue and a bit of machine stitching. I distressed the edges of the Sahara Sand panel with my fingernail and then sponged the edges with Rich Razzleberry ink. I then used the spritzer tool to spritz some Rich Razzleberry ink on the panel. The greeting from Fabulous Phrases was stamped with Rich Razzleberry and then punched out with the decorative label punch. I then sponged and cut the label and adhered it to the card with glue. I then used the scallop circle punch to punch a piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock. I broke down the fibers using my bone folder and separated the card stock once it started to curl. The two layers of scallop circle were adhered to one another with glue and attached to the card. I then took a subtles designer button and threaded it with a piece of white crochet thread that I had sponged with Rich Razzleberry ink and adhered it to the center of the flower with mini glue dots. I hope you like it!

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, then be crowded on a velvet cushion. -Henry David Thoreau

I smiled when I read this Thoreau quote :) I imagined myself sitting on a pumpkin in the backyard, watching the birds and the bees zipping around. So much contentment. No velvet cushion or crowd of people could come close to providing the sense of comfort I feel when I am in nature. The same could be true of the feeling of absolute belonging I feel when I sit in the craft room, surrounded by random odds, ends, bits and pieces all bursting with potential - to be transformed through the act of creation. I love that I don't have to turn my back on nature to be in the craft room - my window looks right out into the garden, inspiring me every time I look up and take notice. I breathe deeply in this room and in the backyard. I also love that I can connect with you, here, without needing to travel through crowds and congestion. Sitting on a pumpkin works just fine for me :)
Today's card began with a piece of Tempting Turquoise card stock. I stamped the floral image from Fifth Avenue floral using Tempting Turquoise ink onto the card base. I then stamped the same image onto Whisper White card stock using Jet Black Staz-On ink and cut it out. Next, I stamped the image multiple times onto a piece of white tissue paper using the Staz-On. I then cut and tore the images out and glued them on top of the Whisper White cut out - creating multiple layers. A dab of Crystal Effects was placed in the center of the flower and some random beads were sprinkled on. I adhered the flower to the card base with glue after using the stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the greeting from On Your Birthday using basic black ink. I hope you like it!

Monday, August 01, 2011

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Sometimes My Creative "Mojo" Likes To Play Hide And Seek!

Do you ever have those days when you try to create and nothing seems to come out well? I had one of those afternoons on Sunday. I'm not sure what it was - me, the heat, maybe a misalignment of the planets. Whatever it was, I just couldn't get my mojo to come out and play! Rather, whatever I created seemed to be in need of a lot of help! Some days are just like that. I did, for a moment, think, "What if my creative mojo doesn't return?!" But then I reassured myself that it will be back - maybe tomorrow, or the next day...but it will be back. In the meantime, I will keep creating...just to entice it out of hiding :)
This card is so simple to make and looks really elegant in person! I stamped this card at my friend Meg's house when we got together a few weeks ago. We stamped the image from Baroque Motifs in Sahara Sand on Whisper White card stock. The "family" greeting is from a retired stamp set and the "thank you" is from Tiny Tags. We used the jewelry tag punch to punch out the "thank you" and then attached it to a knot of Whisper White satin ribbon with a piece of twine. The card front was then attached to a black card base and we added some adhesive rhinestones for a bit of bling! I hope you like it!